Loyalty
by jazzpha
Summary: After Asami and Councilman Tarrlok get kidnapped by the Equalists, it's up to Korra, Mako and Bolin to find them. The question is, will they track them down in time? Slight Masami, and some Borra if you squint. Semi-sequel to "Reasonable Doubt".


**Disclaimer: **While not absolutely necessary, it might be helpful to read my other Korra one-shot, "Reasonable Doubt", before this story. Some of the characters, and situations alluded to, will make more sense that way. But again, it's not essential, strictly speaking.

Enjoy!**  
**

* * *

**Loyalty**

* * *

"Korra? Are you all right?"

"Wha?" the Avatar said blearily, blinking herself out of her meditation and turning to face her Airbending teacher. "Yeah," Korra said slowly, "I'm fine. Why?"

"Well," Tenzin began haltingly, "because you were meditating."

The Avatar raised an eyebrow at that, unable to keep the smallest of smirks from twisting up the corner of her mouth.

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Yes, of course," Tenzin answered defensively, "it's just not like you." The Airbending master sat down next to his student, and the small sigh that greeted him confirmed his suspicions. "Care to tell me what's on your mind?"

Korra held her silence for a moment, weighing her words.

"I have a bad feeling," she said at last. "I've felt it ever since Amon ambushed me, and it's got even worse since I had that conversation with the Equalist prisoner. I don't know why, but it's there and it's not going away."

"Perhaps," Tenzin ventured after a few heartbeats, "the Spirits are trying to tell you something?"

The Avatar gave the idea a bitter chuckle in return.

"If what Amon said was true," she replied, "I don't think the Spirits are going to be telling me much of anything at all."

"Don't be ridiculous," the Airbending master countered quickly. "The Spirits are the ones who endowed the Avatar with their power in the first place; they wouldn't just turn their backs on you, Korra."

Korra opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by the sudden, noisy arrival of two unexpected guests. The Avatar recognized them both: one was the green-eyed stranger that had come to take the Equalist prisoner Sarrak off to his execution, and the other was her Firebending team-mate.

"Korra," Mako said first, still catching his breath, "I need your help. Asami—she's gone."

"Gone?" the Avatar asked, confused and worried by the ambiguous word. "What do you mean?"

"She's been kidnapped, is what he means," the green-eyed young man broke in, sounding mildly annoyed that he'd been preempted. "Along with Councilman Tarrlok."

"Tarrlok?" Tenzin repeated, sounding genuinely shocked. "Doesn't he keep you around to stop things like that from happening, Hanzo?"

Hanzo shrugged, wincing and holding his right shoulder after he did so.

"I'm just a bodyguard, Sir," he answered. "And even as good as I am, there's only so much I can do against a group of Equalist ambushers."

Tenzin sighed, reining his emotions back in and focusing all of his attention on the problem at hand.

"Do we have any leads?"

"No," Hanzo said, "but I reported the incident to Chief Bei Fong. She seemed to think it was my fault, somehow."

Tenzin gave a rueful smile.

"Lin is a very suspicious person," he said. "You'd have to be, to do her job."

"And Mister Sato is already looking for Asami," Mako rejoined, before looking over at Korra. "I just thought the three of us might have a better shot at finding her."

"I'm not working with him," the Avatar shot back, pointing at Hanzo. "I trust that guy less than the Chief does."

"What?" Mako asked, puzzled. "Korra, I was talking about Bolin."

The Avatar blinked.

"Oh. Right. Of course you were. Where is he?"

"Still eating lunch when I left to come here," the Firebender replied, sounding more than a little exasperated. "I told him to just meet us in the Park after I got you."

"Sounds good," Korra said, her blue eyes as focused and determined as her voice. "Let's go."

The two of them had already begun walking toward the exit from the training ground when Tenzin's voice stopped the Avatar in her tracks.

"Korra."

She turned back, seeing a look of paternal concern on her teacher's face as he faced his student.

"Be careful."

"You, too, Master," Korra said with a bow, before the two of them left Tenzin and Hanzo alone.

"So," the Airbender said gravely, "do you think Amon would kill Councilman Tarrlok?"

Hanzo paused to consider the question, before shaking his head.

"No," he replied, "I don't think so. The Councilman's a lot more useful to him alive than dead."

Tenzin sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. He'd known the Equalists would be making their move soon, but he hadn't been expecting anything quite this fast. If Tarrlok was killed, or robbed of his Bending…

Amon was forcing the Council's hand, and the Equalist leader knew they weren't ready for it. Tenzin just hoped that Korra would be all right; after her scare with Amon, the Airbending master knew his student wouldn't go rushing into danger again so recklessly—but even so, there was no telling where the trail to Asami would lead.

"Would I be correct in assuming," Tenzin said slowly, turning to face Tarrlok's aide, "that you have a lead, and simply didn't reveal it so that Korra wouldn't go rushing right into the teeth of Amon's soldiers?"

Hanzo was quiet for a moment, his sharp green eyes searching Tenzin's face, until his mouth slowly widened into a smile.

"You do your parents proud, Master Tenzin," he said. "But I'm not telling you, either."

"Oh?" the Airbender shot back, not even bothering to hide his suspicion. "Why not?"

"Because there're only four Airbenders alive on this entire planet," Hanzo answered, readjusting the pair of _katana_ at his waist as he turned and began to walk away, "and it would do no one any good for the only Master in the bunch to lose his Bending."

Tenzin watched Tarrlok's aide leave in silence, his mood darkening even further.

He knew exactly why Lin didn't trust Hanzo, and the Airbender was inclined to agree with her.

* * *

As they neared the place where Mako had told his brother to meet them, Korra finally decided to break the silence.

"Were you there when it happened?" she asked quietly, aware that she was treading on thin ice.

"Yeah," the Firebender admitted, the single word smoldering with shame and anger. "It was a classic snatch-and-grab; I got split off from her, and the next thing I knew she was gone. I should have seen it coming from a mile away, but I had my guard down like an idiot."

"It wasn't your fault," Korra tried to console her friend. "These guys are professionals at this stuff."

"I used to hang around those kinds of 'professionals' all the time, Korra," Mako reminded her lowly, his amber eyes dark with a storm of barely-suppressed emotions. "Even if I was just a bookie, I still know all the trade secrets. I could have—I _should_ have kept her safe."

The hurt in Mako's voice over his failure to protect Asami stung Korra deeper than the thought of him spending time alone with the rich industrialist's daughter. The last thing he needed in his life was one more thing to drag himself over the coals about, or one more burden to bear.

"We'll get her back, safe and sound," she reassured him, putting a hand on the Firebender's shoulder. "I promise."

If Mako was surprised by the show of concern for a girl who had at one point been the Avatar's rival, he hid it masterfully.

"Thanks, Korra," he said at last, offering up a genuine, if small smile. "I really appreciate the help."

"Hey," she replied with a grin, "what're friends for?"

It was only a few minutes later that they reached the meeting place, greeted by a worried Bolin and an anxious Pabu perched on the Earthbender's shoulder.

"Hey, guys," Bolin said, quickly climbing up Naga's side to sit behind his brother. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Korra spoke up, the edge in her voice impossible to miss. "Naga!"

The Polar Bear Dog shot through the park, the crowds parting to make way for her.

"And where might we be going, exactly?" Bolin asked.

"Wherever hired thugs go to spend their spare time," the Avatar said. "Hanzo told us he didn't have any leads, but I think I might be able to find one if we get lucky. Where should we start looking, Captain?"

"There's a bar a few blocks from here," Mako replied. "That would be as good a place as any."

"Of _course_ you pick the one with the most expensive noodles for ten miles, bro," Bolin groused.

"And of _course_ you think I'd even let you have any at a time like this," Mako countered. "We have work to do, Bo."

"You suck so much."

"And I love you, too."

Korra couldn't help but smile at the exchange, wondering bittersweetly to herself if she would bicker like that with her own sibling, if she had one.

"Here we are," Mako spoke up a short while later, and Korra slowed Naga to a stop. The trio dismounted, walking into the dive without another word. Korra entered first, and to her surprise the person she'd only been hoping to hear a rumor about was sitting at a table on the left side of the room, staring right back at her.

He smiled, the scar tissue on the left side of his face rippling as he did so.

"Fancy seeing you here, Avatar," Sarrak said.

"I should be telling you that, dead man," Korra replied as she walked over and sat down across from the Equalist, boring holes into his head with her glare. "How did you get away from Hanzo?"

"Uh, Korra?" Mako's concerned voice broke in from over her shoulder, "you know this guy?"

"Yeah," she said tersely, still staring down the scarred young man across from her, "we've met."

"In prison," Sarrak clarified, looking up at the Firebender. "What, I don't get a 'hello'? That's cold, Mako; even for you."

"Can it," Mako snapped back. "Korra, let's go. This piece of trash isn't worth your time."

"He's the only lead we have," the Avatar replied, still holding Sarrak's eyes with her own "which makes him worth our time. You two know each other?"

"Now, _that_," the Equalist said, leaning back slightly and smiling with an edge sharp enough to cut glass, "is a very good question. Do we know each other, Mako?"

"_Shut up._"

The sound of the hiss that slipped through the Firebender's grit teeth was so foreign that it got Korra's attention immediately.

"Mako?" she asked, her voice concerned and uncertain. "What's he talking about?"

"Nothing," the Firebender said, his voice as hard as Korra's had been just moments earlier. "Isn't that right, Sarrak?"

The Equalist looked like he was considering disagreeing, but ultimately nodded.

"Nothing important," he said at last. "Have a seat, you two; you're making me nervous."

The two brothers sat down on either side of Korra, and Sarrak leaned forward again.

"You're looking for Tarrlok, right?" the Equalist said, drawing a nod from the Avatar.

"And someone else," Korra added. "Hiroshi Sato's daughter, Asami."

"Really?" Sarrak asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I didn't think we'd ever be able to nab her for ransom. How'd that happen?"

"You don't know?" Mako asked, before he sneered as his puzzlement turned into spite. "Does Amon not trust you enough to keep you in the loop?"

"Please," the Equalist snorted dismissively. "Do you think our group would survive if everyone knew about every move Amon was going to make? I know what I need to know; that's it."

"Then please tell us you know where they would have been taken," Korra rejoined, her hand clenching into a fist against the table, "because I'm running out of reasons not to punch you in the face."

"Always with the threats," Sarrak mused, smiling. "Not very Avatar-like of you."

"Dude, just stop pretending to be a badass," Bolin said at last, breaking his silence. "We don't have time for this. Tell us where Tarrsock is—"

"Tarrlok."

"Whatever. Spill the beans, or Korra here calls in her three-ton fluffy predator friend and we do this the hard way."

Sarrak looked at the Earthbender for a long moment, before shifting his eyes back to his older brother.

"He's got twice as many guts as you do," he told Mako. "You should be proud."

"I am," the Firebender said evenly. "Now start talking."

Sarrak held his tongue for a few more moments, but in the end he nodded.

"Haijan district," he said. "The fishmonger's shop, second floor up, in the back. I wouldn't worry about Tarrlok, though."

"Why not?" Korra asked, and the Equalist smiled.

"Because either he's a corpse," Sarrak said, "or he's no longer capable of Bending. Either way, I think he should be back in the Council's hands by now."

The Avatar felt something inside of her snap, and she had to bite back a snarl. Did Equalists exist just to make her feel useless and worth less than nothing? She was getting very, very sick of it.

"When this is over," Mako said lowly, "you and I are gonna settle up, Sarrak."

The Equalist smiled as the trio across from him rose to their feet and headed towards the door.

"You know where to find me!" he called after them.

* * *

Asami had no idea where she was; the bag over her head made sure of that. She did know what kind of building she was in, though, so that was a start. The smell of fish was overwhelming.

She was thankful for the dim light in the room, as the bag was pulled off of her head with gentleness that surprised her; the heiress was used to her ransomers treating her with all the delicacy given to a sack of potatoes.

"Afternoon, my Lady," a more-than-slightly amused voice greeted Asami from somewhere off to her left. "Your trip over here wasn't too bad, I hope?"

She turned her head to face her questioner, inwardly pleased by the lack of soreness in her muscles. He didn't look much older than her, if he was at all. Green eyes; the stance of someone who knew a thing or two about close combat; two swords. So, someone who either overcompensated, or who was good enough to use both blades at the same time. Judging by the stance, Asami had to go with the second option. That made escape pretty difficult, if not outright impossible.

Might as well see where this went, then.

"I guess not," she said calmly, "considering I was knocked out cold for almost all of it."

The young man chuckled.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, his eyes focused and bright. Bright, but without warmth or humor. So, he was a soldier. "Can't be too careful, especially not when you're wanted by the police."

"Speaking of," a new voice broke in from the shadows, "did you get tailed here, Hanzo?"

"No, Mira," Hanzo answered as the new speaker stepped out into the light, "I didn't get tailed. Don't you have a boyfriend to go make out with, or something?"

The newcomer breathed out a short laugh; Asami could see that she only had one good eye. The other was covered by a stripe of black silk, but the good one shined bright amber. A quiver of arrows and bow strapped to her back told Asami everything else she needed to know, and the heiress could now firmly put any plan of escape off the table.

"Sarrak's busy playing go-between right now," Mira replied, before looking off to her left, at the other side of the spacious room. "Are you going to wake him up," the archer asked as she gestured lazily to the unconscious form in the corner, "or should I?"

Hanzo opened his mouth to reply, but the voice that answered Mira wasn't his.

"Allow me."

The calm, measured words sliced through the room like a knife, and the two young Equalists froze on the spot for a heartbeat before snapping sharply to attention.

A moment later, as the owner of the voice stepped into the light, Asami knew why.

"Amon, Sir," Hanzo spoke first, bowing. "This is an unexpected honor."

"Is it?" the leader of the Equalists replied, cocking his head slightly to the side. "Do you know of someone else who could take away Councilman Tarrlok's Bending, Hanzo?"

"No, Sir."

"Then my arrival here makes perfect sense," Amon said. "Save your flattery for someone with low self-esteem."

Mira chuckled, and Hanzo glared at her. Amon walked over to the Councilman's side and kicked him hard in the gut, the force of the blow more than sufficient to bring Tarrlok gasping and groaning back into awareness. After taking a few seconds to get over the sudden pain, the Councilman looked around wildly to see where he had wound up. His frightened blue eyes landed on Amon's mask, and Tarrlok gasped in shock.

"You!"

Amon's eyes were pitiless.

"Me."

Before Tarrlok could even flex his bound wrists in a meager attempt at Waterbending, Amon's Lieutenant had immobilized him with a quick shock of lightning. The Equalist leader hauled Tarrlok to his feet with one hand, placing his free hand on the Councilman's head.

"No… no…" the Waterbender repeated, the words sounding more like a whimper than a plea. "Please, no…"

Amon said nothing, and a moment later Tarrlok's eyes began to quiver in their sockets. Asami had only counted to five before Amon let go, and Tarrlok fell limply to the floor.

"Cut him loose," the Equalist leader told his Lieutenant, and the bonds on the Councilman's arms were severed. Tarrlok rose to his feet in a stagger, eyeing a bucket of water nearby. He tried to pull the water out of the bucket and towards him, but nothing happened.

His Waterbending was gone. Asami had heard the Avatar say it was possible, but actually seeing it happen was something else entirely.

As the truth of what had happened to him sunk into Tarrlok, the Councilman's shock turned to anger and rage. And when he looked over and saw his former bodyguard standing there with a grin on his face, that anger and rage had a target.

"Don't kill him, Hanzo," Amon cautioned his underling, seeing what was about to happen. "We need him alive."

There was a _hiss_ and a flash of steel as Hanzo drew one of his two _katana,_ almost too quickly for Asami's eyes to follow. In a blink, one of Tarrlok's arms was lying on the floor; it had been severed clean at the shoulder. The Councilman collapsed to his knees and screamed in pain, silenced a moment later as the butt of the _katana's_ hilt slammed into his head and drove Tarrlok back into unconsciousness.

"Shame," Hanzo said, looking at the crumpled form of his former superior with vicious scorn. "I was looking forward to that."

"You'll get your revenge before this is over," Amon said. "For now, get him back to the Council. Let's see what they do with him, now that he's one of us."

Hanzo bowed, lifting Tarrlok's body over one of his shoulders and beginning to walk from the room. Before he made it to the door, however, a man wearing a police uniform burst through the other side.

"Tenzin was right to have me follow you, you traitor!" he said, raising his arms to shoot out a Metalbender's trademark cuffs.

Hanzo's sword flashed again, and the man's head hit the floor a moment later; the rest of his body followed close behind.

"If you're going to attack," the swordsman said disdainfully, "attack. Don't stand there jabbering."

"So," Mira spoke up, "you weren't tailed, is that it?"

"Screw you."

"Enough," Amon called out, and the two Equalists fell quiet. "Hanzo, as you were. Mira, clean up his mess. I need to have a few words with Miss Sato."

"Of course, Sir," the archer answered, glaring banefully at Hanzo's back as he left, while she hauled the body out of the room. Amon's Lieutenant picked up its severed head and followed behind Mira, leaving Asami alone with the Equalist leader.

The silence held for a few more moments before Amon broke it.

"Are you afraid?" he asked evenly, and Asami shook her head. "Unlike most people who do that," Amon continued, "I can tell you're not lying. Why?"

"I don't have any reason to fear you, that's why," the heiress replied. "I'm not a Bender, and you need me alive to ransom me."

"Two good points," Amon allowed, "but you're still missing the one that matters. Perhaps it will help if I tell you that I have no plans to ransom you."

That declaration took her by surprise, and Asami arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"You don't?" she asked. "Then why bother dragging me all the way out to wherever 'here' is?"

"Because I want to make you a deal," Amon explained. "Consider it… something of a partnership."

"And if I refuse?"

Amon let the question hang in the air for a tense moment.

"That would be quite ill-advised."

Asami let her fists unclench as she took a calming breath, relieving the pressure of the rope that had been chafing against her wrists.

"I'm listening."

"Your father gives you a monthly stipend of 800,000 _yuans_, delivered in weekly increments of 200,000 _yuans_."

"How do you—?"

"That's an irrelevant question," Amon cut her off pointedly. "Here is the deal, Miss Sato: you give us half of that amount, each week, to be handed off to a designated bag-man. One of my soldiers will let you know the drop point ahead of time, and it will change each week."

"And in return?" Asami pressed, her green eyes focused and unyielding. "What's in it for me?"

"And once again," Amon replied, "you miss the point. This isn't about 'what's in it for you' at all. Your end of the deal concerns the team your father is sponsoring in the Pro-Bending Tournament. Or, more specifically," the Equalist leader finished as his eyes narrowed menacingly, "it concerns their Firebender."

Asami felt her heart clench up at Amon's implications about Mako, and it took every ounce of her poise to keep her calm.

"That's why you wanted me to see you taking away Councilman Tarrlok's Bending," the heiress said, all the pieces falling into place in her mind's eye. "So that when you threaten to do the same thing to Mako, I'll know you're not lying."

Amon nodded.

"Smart girl," he said, a smile in his voice that his face was no longer capable of forming. "It's a shame that you won't be able to work for me in a more official capacity; I could use a mind as sharp as yours."

"I'm sure you could," Asami replied spitefully, realizing how thoroughly she'd been played. "Fine. I'll accept your deal—but I want you to promise me something."

"And what might that be?" the Equalist leader asked, sounding amused.

"That when this is all over," she said firmly, "you leave Mako's Firebending alone. And his brother's Earthbending, too," the heiress added, realizing that Mako would be just as devastated by Bolin losing his Earthbending as he would be with having his own Firebending stripped away.

Amon laughed.

"Smart," he said, "but also arrogant. I don't make promises I have no intention of keeping."

"Then we don't have a deal," Asami shot back.

A tense few heartbeats passed between the two of them, before a sudden burst of noise from the floor below jarred Asami out of their staring contest.

"It's about time," Amon mused, half-to-himself, before focusing his attention back on the heiress. "If those terms aren't to your liking," the Equalist leader continued with unnerving calm, walking closer to her step-by-step, "consider the alternative: we wait for those three to get up here, at which point I will immobilize each of them, take Mako's Firebending away, and snap his neck in front of you.

"If you're fine with having his blood on your hands," Amon finished, now so close to Asami that she could see herself reflected in his cold eyes, "then I'll take you at your word."

"Do you think I've never been threatened by a kidnapper before?" the heiress said, her own fear giving her voice a desperate boldness.

"That wasn't a threat," Amon replied lowly. "That was a promise."

The Equalist leader turned and began to walk toward the exit at the far side of the room, while Asami fought hard to hold back a retch.

"Don't tell them I was here," Amon called out in parting. "We'll be in touch, Miss Sato."

He vanished through the door mere seconds before Mako, Korra and Bolin came bursting through the entrance, quickly surveying the situation and catching sight of the person they'd come to rescue.

"Asami!" Mako called out, hurrying over to her and crouching slightly to be at eye-level with his girlfriend. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," the heiress assured him. "I'd be even better if you could get rid of these ropes, though."

Mako wasted no time in moving around to the back of the chair, using a thin sliver of flame to cut the rope knot in half. The bonds fell away uselessly, and as soon as the Firebender moved back around the chair again he found himself being pulled into a fierce hug.

"I knew you'd find me," Asami said, letting herself finally sigh in relief as she rested her head against Mako's shoulder. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for anything," the Firebender assured her, returning the embrace. "If you have to thank someone, though," Mako said as the pair broke apart, "you should thank Korra and Bolin. They did the hard work this time; I just tagged along."

"'_This time_'?" Bolin said, smiling. "We do the hard work _every_ time, bro."

Asami forced herself to chuckle, trying to ignore the knots in her stomach.

"I'm glad Asami's all right," Korra spoke up, "but we don't have time to waste here. We still need to track down Councilman Tarrlok; I don't believe for a second that Sarrak told us the whole truth."

"You don't need to look for Tarrlok, Korra," the heiress told the Avatar. "He's already on his way back to the Council's chambers at City Hall."

"How do you know?" Bolin asked. "Did you see him?"

Asami nodded.

"He was here, and then I saw him getting taken away. They said they were taking him back to the Council. I don't… I don't remember much else. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," Mako told her gently, his voice heavy with concern. Every word of it stung. "You got kidnapped. If one of us should be apologizing, it's me. I should never have let that happen, and I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, champ," Asami told her boyfriend, and this time her laugh, strained though it was, was genuine. "This kind of thing happens to me all the time. I just can't stand my dad's guards following me everywhere."

"Well," Mako hazarded, trying not to sound nervous and only partially succeeding, "would just one guard be all right?"

Asami smiled.

"Yeah," she said, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing Mako on the cheek, "I think that could work."

"Look," Bolin broke in, impatient, "I appreciate that you two are busy being disgustingly cute and all, but this place smells like death. Can we get out of here, please? No girls want anything to do with a guy who smells like rotten flounder-carp."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Korra teased. "That is a story I've _gotta_ hear."

"Only if the next round of noodles is on you."

"Done!"

Bolin winced.

"I was really hoping you wouldn't agree to that," he groaned, realizing his ploy had failed. "I'm going to have to eat myself sick just to make it worth it!"

Korra looked over at Mako, curious.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked, and the Firebender nodded.

"Oh yeah."

The Avatar's mouth widened in a mischievous grin.

"Awesome."

"No, not awesome," Bolin said as the four of them walked out of the room, but the rest of the conversation was lost on Asami. She was trying desperately to forget her bargain with Amon, but nothing she did could get the sound of his parting words out of her head.

"_We'll be in touch, Miss Sato."_

Asami could only hope that if her deal with Amon ever came to light, Mako would find some way to forgive her.

* * *

**…**

**…**

**A/N:** So I told myself I'd try not to let shipping get in the way of the Mako-Korra-Bolin bromance extraordinaire after Episode 5 happened, and I guess the Masami here is a consequence of that. I'm not trying to have those three torn apart by some love triangle when they're so awesome together.

I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you're someone who's read through both of my Korra one-shots so far, you have my sincere thanks! Maybe another one will be in the works soon, if I can find the time for it.

Later!

**- Jazz**


End file.
